Page 22 - Macbeth Modern Translation

‘One of them cried ‘God bless us!’ and the other ‘Amen’ . As though they
had seen me with these hangman’s hands. Listening to their fear I couldn’t
say Amen when they cried ‘God bless us!’‘

‘Don’t think about it,’ she said.

‘But why couldn’t I say Amen? I needed a blessing and Amen stuck in my
throat.’

‘We musn’t think about it: it will drive us mad.’

‘I thought I heard a voice cry ‘Sleep no more! Macbeth has murdered
sleep.’’ Macbeth put his head on her breast and she cradled him. ‘The
innocent sleep’ he muttered – ‘sleep that removes our worries, the death at
the end of each careworn day, the balm of hard work, ointment of painful
minds, chief nourisher in life’s feast -‘

She pushed him away. ‘What are you talking about?’

‘And it kept crying ‘Sleep no more’ so that I thought it would wake the whole
house up. ‘Glamis has murdered sleep and so Cawdor will sleep no more!
Macbeth will sleep no more!’

Lady Macbeth stamped her foot. ‘Who was it that cried like that? Come on,
Thane. You make a mockery of your manhood, behaving so foolishly. Go and

get some water and wash this filthy witness from your hands.’

When he came back from the well with the bucket she was holding the
daggers. ‘Why on earth did you bring them out? They have to stay there.
Take them back and smear the grooms with blood.’

Macbeth drew back and looked at her in terror. ‘I’m not going back there.
I’m afraid to think about what I’ve done let alone look at it.’

‘Weakling!’ she said. ‘Give me the daggers.!’ She snatched them from him.
‘The dead look no different from sleeping people. Fearing the dead is like a
child fearing a painted devil. If he’s bleeding I’ll put some of it on the groom’s
faces because it must look as though they’ve done it.’

Macbeth was left alone. He couldn’t believe what he’d done. Suddenly
there was a booming noise. Someone was knocking at the gate. Who was it?
Why was it that every noise appalled him? He looked down at his hands and
started. Could all the water in the ocean wash this blood off? It was more
likely that his hands would turn all the earth’s seas red!

‘My hands are the same colour as yours, ‘ said his wife as she joined him.
‘Although I’m sorry to say I don’t feel any guilt. There’s someone knocking at
the south entry. Let’s go to our room.’

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